Ok, so i am an old man on a dirt bike......... so what! i have a 01 KDX220, and has enough vibration in the bars to put my hands to sleep pretty quick! i replace the exh. o-rings every four rides. the pipe mouts appear ok. I have "adjusted" the pipe to fit. still the stock bars, and i have added bark busters. Now I feel that since the bark buster add-on, this may have made it worse, by adding more weight to the end of the bars. the bark busters have saved my wrinkly ole hands many times, and i think i need to keep them, but the vibration! aaaarg! faast makes a three piece bar i have been thinking about, but $$$$ so where to with this?? help me out here fellas! :whiner: :worship: :worship:
Vibration!
- Thread starter gnarlykaw
- Start date
I agree with Lew and kdxjr,it's about the bars and grips combo.Perhaps the bar mounts as well can have an effect on "vibes".The three bikes i own,two have renthal bars,one has protaper.My pt bars are in a scotts setup with solid mounts,clamps and a damper.....very nice.Good grips help too ,i've used pro grip and smith .Dual density or gel are the best type imo.You would be surprised what a difference they can make.Mounts ,there are several.... solid,rubber bushed or aluminum cones, opinions vary on how much they effect this problem.Vibration comes with the territory,how much.....well something out of balance or alignment (have you looked into this as the cause) can compound this too.My new KTM does not have extraordinary vibration and many consider that an issue with them.Neither my kdx or KTM cause me any problems in this department.
Hey Gnarly - Take a close look at your motor mount bolts for tightness - ALL OF THEM!! Could also be a twisted crank but this is very unlikely. I have ridden bikes that were a few thou out on the crank and man they were terrible!!! I have also ridden them with loose motor mount bolts and it is amazing how much they will vibe!
Let us know how you come out!
Woodsy
Let us know how you come out!
Woodsy
I believe it is in the bars/grips. I threw out the rubber mounting cones on my bike and replaced them with alluminum cones and a Fredette one piece top clamp. Bars don't twist around anymore. I am sure there is vibration, but not to a point where I am bothered and we ride for long periods. Bottom line I just think you need a quality set of bars and grips. I use renthal medium compound grips.
Lew
Lew
- Oct 28, 2001
- 4,704
- 0
I replaced the stock handlebars with Renthal before I really rode the bike, so I can't compare between the two and determine which one vibrated more. All I know is that after about 20 minutes of straight riding, my hands and arms from the elbows down are tinglely and numb. Doesn't make for very good control and reflexes when you can't feel your hands! If I stop for 5-10 minutes, they're fine. FWIW, I have bark busters and stock rubber bushings.
Based on someone's recommendation here, I filled the handlebars with that expanding foam that you spray out of a can. Didn't really seem to make a difference. Fasst makes some anti-vibration inserts that claim to work with bark busters installed. Check them out here:
http://www.fasstco.com/html/products.html
They are a little pricey ($50), so I hope they work. If so, then well worth the cost. They have a 2-month money-back guarantee. I'm going to order a set in the spring when I'll have the 2 months to try them out (in Michigan here we only have a few more weeks of riding left).
I don't know if it's because I'm older (38), or because I'm a software developer and on the keyboard all day (but don't have any other carpal tunnel symptoms), but when I rode as a teenager, my hands never bothered me from vibration - and I rode for 4-6 hours straight.
I also have a set of Progrip dual density "gel" grips that I'm also going to try next spring after I cut my bars down. I've heard that this helps some people out. Oh ya, I leave the wrist strap on my gloves very loose.
Other than that, I try to grip the bike with my legs more to allow my hands to relax a little. Still a very irritating problem. I'm hoping the Fasst inserts help. Couldn't find very much feedback on them on this site.
Good luck!
Based on someone's recommendation here, I filled the handlebars with that expanding foam that you spray out of a can. Didn't really seem to make a difference. Fasst makes some anti-vibration inserts that claim to work with bark busters installed. Check them out here:
http://www.fasstco.com/html/products.html
They are a little pricey ($50), so I hope they work. If so, then well worth the cost. They have a 2-month money-back guarantee. I'm going to order a set in the spring when I'll have the 2 months to try them out (in Michigan here we only have a few more weeks of riding left).
I don't know if it's because I'm older (38), or because I'm a software developer and on the keyboard all day (but don't have any other carpal tunnel symptoms), but when I rode as a teenager, my hands never bothered me from vibration - and I rode for 4-6 hours straight.
I also have a set of Progrip dual density "gel" grips that I'm also going to try next spring after I cut my bars down. I've heard that this helps some people out. Oh ya, I leave the wrist strap on my gloves very loose.
Other than that, I try to grip the bike with my legs more to allow my hands to relax a little. Still a very irritating problem. I'm hoping the Fasst inserts help. Couldn't find very much feedback on them on this site.
Good luck!
- Oct 28, 2001
- 4,704
- 0
Thanks gooby, I forgot about the birdshot suggestion, or even melting and pouring some lead into the bar ends. I figure by the time I get a hold of some birdshot or lead, buy a little torch, melt it, tip the bike or remove handlebars, I'd have the Fasst inserts installed a lot quicker. If those inserts don't work, then I will try it as a last resort!
What bugs me is why wasn't this a problem 20 years ago?
You were about 18..? 20 yrs ago.I'm not trying to kid anyone,i feel vibration but it's not bothersome.I'ts easy ...no melting,squib some silicone in there ,push the round balls in....let it dry?Cost is about 10.00 and will take you 15 minutes?Lead is soft ,if the caliber of ball is too big.....squish them with a hammer.
Jim Crenca
LIFETIME SPONSOR
- Mar 18, 2001
- 509
- 0
I don't remember much change in vibration when changing from stock handlebars to TAG units. I've had better luck with the Pro Grip 714 dual sport grip as they have a larger, soft, diameter (which helps my 44 year old hands). I've also noticed much less cramping in hands and forearms as I relax more and my riding experience increases. A fork rebuild from MX Tech also helped relieve some stress as well as increase confidence due to much better handling. I'm not intereseted in adding any more weight to these bikes as they don't vibrate THAT bade and other old riders have adjusted to it; besides a KDX is already heavy enough.
Mike Hubert
Member
- Apr 22, 2001
- 164
- 0
I had great luck melting lead and pouring it in the handlebars, push some paper into the bar about 5-6 inches and melt some lead in an old soup ladel with a propane tourch and pour it in. I have the same problem and I am 49 and spend my days on a PC as well. To completely eliminate the vibration I did the following: RG3 Triple Clamps, 1 1/8 inch Rental double wall bars and the lead mentioned above.
Your bike should have rubber bar mounts on the triple, right? I might check the bottom nuts are not overtightened, causing the rubber to be crushed, and metal to metal. Lew is right, your bike shouldn't have that much vibration, even if you had iron pipes mounted in place of your bars. Sometimes, I will clamp big vice grips on things and monitor the change see if vibrations are natural frequency vibrations(oscillation), or are caused by damaged or bent parts.
